Christianity and Abortion: A Complicated History - Essay Sample

Introduction

The issue of abortion and Christianity has a complicated and long history, and there are several positions that the Christian denominations have taken over the years concerning the topic. Primarily, both New and the books of the Old Testament of the Christian bible do not prohibit abortion (Stettner, and Bruce 179). While dome people argue to believe that the early Christians have a different view on abortion, others believe that despite the issues of science and the New Testament on abortion, they strictly condemn the practice at any point in pregnancy. They think it is a grave sin.

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All the denominations across the globe have taken a different and robust position on the issue of abortion. Primarily, the argument is that the problem mainly touches on several topics that include death and life, right and wrong, the nature of society, and human relationships. These aspects mainly encompass major religious concerns (Castuera 122). The people who re involved in the practice are affected both emotionally and spiritually. In such instances, they turn to faith for comfort and advice, seek atonement and way to handle the guilt feelings, and for an explanation of their opinions.

Importantly, because abortion mainly affects the heart and the mind, and it involves things to do with life and death, most people find the argument regarding abortion ultimately unsatisfying. To me, the issue is higher than the concerns of human being and their conscience but also their relationship with God. Consequently, the issue of abortion also touches on other things, such as ethics (Silber 459). Who determines what is right and what is wrong? Moreover, it is abortion ethical. This is a question that has been deliberated, and may people organizations have their views regarding it.

Why Abortion is Wrong

Abortion is primarily regarded as the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. Most people believe that abortion is morally wrong, and their arguments include the following. Firstly, abortion involves the termination of pregnancy, which translates to killing (Stettner, and Bruce 179). Christians believe that murder is wrong, and therefore, abortion is illegal as it consists of killing the unborn baby. Primarily, life begins at conception, and thus destroying the innocent fetus is wrong to the eyes of God and the church.

Secondly, abortion offends God, any person whose organization that advocates for is going against t the will of God. Procuring abortion from the clinic or other healthcare facilities is not a personal choice but an offense to God and His creation (Castuera 126). The anti-abortion struggles that have been advocated by the catholic church have been religious battles cross the globe against abortion. The catholic church has maintained its stance that abortion is a bad practice and it should be done away with. This is because the church teachings and practices are straightforward and unambiguous. Primarily, there are no compromises and exceptions when it comes to the issue of abortion.

Thirdly, humankind must protect innocent life. Primarily the first and the foremost principle if people is to preserve and protect life (Silber 459). Moreover, this starts with self-preservation and continues to all people through the realization of nature and domestic bonds. The main issue is that abortion stops the beating of an innocent human being, which contradicts the premise of human nature. Fourthly, abortion is unsafe, and the abortion industry is unregulated as the practice is done in unsafe clinics by unqualified individuals (Stettner, and Bruce 179). This puts the life of the mother at risk. Statistics indicate that many women die during unsafe abortions.

Moreover, abortion is a biogenetic tower of babel. The culture of death is currently endangering human life, and it is seeking to destroy it (Jones, and John 32). Human cloning is the new practice in the society that is making abortion become a new subject of practice as many people are not willing to have kids and children the natural way (Silber 459). This practice produced unusable genes that cannot survive in the world. Therefore, humanity and human culture are at risk.

Pro-Life

Pro-life is also know as anti-abortion movements. These movements are involved in the debate primarily against the practice of abortion and its legality. Most of the anti-abortion movements started as the countermovement to the response of legalization in elective abortions. Most women have aborted, and the loss, emotional, and pain should justify what was done to both the mother and her loved ones (Castuera 124). The best option for the pro-life is to arm with facts and deliver them to the audience. The language should not be based on faith, but the language of the postmodern secularist (Stettner, and Bruce 179). Consequently, what follows here is the best arguments of women's rights, law, and science in order to advance the pro-life case against abortion.

Argument From Science

Individuals who are pro-abortion argue that no one knows when life begins, this is mainly to support the issue of surgical abortion which is, the way most abortions are conducted (Jones, and John 32). To counter this argument, science dictates that life begins when the sperms come into contact with the embryo (Silber 459). Therefore, the scientific explanation on the start of life is plain and clear, and it is when the sperm and the egg come into existence.

Argument Form Law

The law has been vague on the issue of abortion. Most of the cases on abortion have been on the bases of health complications, but is that the truth. A study conducted in 2018 by the Guttmacher Institute over the past 25 years it found out that only seven percent of the abortion done were due to health complication or health issues. So, this begs the question is the law adequate to cover such matters (Castuera 123). Moreover, only two percent of the population indicated that abortion was because of rape or another related issue (Stettner, and Bruce 179). This brings to the conclusion that regardless of the law abortion is a crime, and there should not be any exceptions.

The Argument From Women Rights

Most women hide behind women's rights to conduct abortions. These organizations advocate for the termination of pregnancy, which is not right at all (Stettner, and Bruce 179). The biggest threat to abortion is the women who are advocating for women's rights movements (Castuera 125). This is because they are mainly advocating for protecting their image instead of supporting the real issue which is protecting life (Jones, and John 32). Abortion is a way of terminating a pregnancy, which is a way of killing an innocent individual (Jones, and John 32). Most of the women argue that the child has not yet developed, but the truth of the matter is that life begins at conception.

My Standpoint

My standpoint on the issue is clear and to the point. Abortion is a crime and illegal, and people and governments should stand together to protect life. Science dictates that life begins at conceptions, and therefore any attempt to abort is an attempt to commit murder. There is no difference between an individual who is convicted of murder and the individual who has aborted, and both are murders.

There are some instances where abortion can be allowed and they include only when there is a medical condition. There is a risk that the maternal health and this include mental health when pregnancy was gotten through rape, child abuse, and insets. It would heartbreaking for a mother to bring up a child when she knows it was from crime. Another instance when abortion might be allowed is when the child might have an unacceptable quality of life, and this includes examples of serious handicaps, severe mental defects, and serious genetic problems.

Moreover, when the mother has social reasons such as poverty and mother too young to cope with the child. Consequently, when abortion is a matter of government policy and this includes when it is a way or regulating the population, a form of improving the community, and a war of controlling group within a society. Most people who are against abortion I included believe when aborting is about protecting the mother or for the sake of maternal health, and it is morally acceptable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, government, churches, and the individual should be at the forefront of protecting life. Thing means having policies the do away thing abortion and advocate against abortion. The church has maintained its position that abortion is a crime; it is unaccepted in the eyes of God and Christianity. Therefore, people need to make sure that they fight against abortion and ensure they live morally and ethically.

Works Cited

Castuera, Ignacio. "A Social History of Christian Thought on Abortion: Ambiguity vs. Certainty in Moral Debate." American Journal of Economics & Sociology, vol. 76, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 121-227. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/ajes.12174.

Silber Mohamed, Heather. "Embryonic Politics: Attitudes about Abortion, Stem Cell Research, and IVF." Politics & Religion, vol. 11, no. 3, Sept. 2018, p. 459. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=131024865&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Stettner, Shannon, and Bruce Douville. "'In the Image and Likeness of God': Christianity and Public Opinion on Abortion in The Globe and Mail during the 1960s." Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 50, no. 1, Winter 2016, p. 179. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/jcs.2016.50.1.179.

Jones, Michael S., and John B. Molinari Jr. "Christianity, Epistemic Peer Disagreement, and the Abortion Debate." Journal for the Study of Religions & Ideologies, vol. 17, no. 49, Spring 2018, p. 32. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=128222568&site=eds-live&scope=site.